ACCA map
Which topics on this site help with which ACCA exams, so your revision counts towards your degree and your ACCA qualification at the same time.
Check the details with ACCA. The syllabus for each exam, and any exemptions your degree gives you, are set by ACCA and can change. Use this map as a guide to where the site overlaps with each exam, then check the current syllabus and your exemptions on the ACCA website or in your myACCA account.
FA: Financial Accounting
Applied Knowledge
The accounting equationWhy every transaction has two effects, and how assets, liabilities and equity stay in balance.FoundationsDebits, credits and account typesThe five account types and the DEAD CLIC rule for which side an entry goes on.FoundationsJournal entriesTurning transactions into balanced debits and credits, set out in the standard journal format.FoundationsT-accounts and balancing offPosting to ledger accounts and working out closing balances with c/d and b/d.FoundationsTrial balanceListing every balance on the right side, and what a trial balance can and can’t prove.FoundationsAccruals and prepaymentsYear-end adjustments that match income and expenses to the period they belong to.FoundationsDepreciation and disposalsStraight-line and reducing balance methods, the journal, and profit or loss on disposal.FoundationsIncome statementCost of sales, gross profit and net profit in the vertical format, for sole traders and companies.FoundationsStatement of financial positionAssets, liabilities and capital at a date, laid out so the two halves agree.FoundationsPartnershipsSharing profit between partners: salaries, interest on capital, the appropriation account and current accounts.FoundationsIncomplete recordsPreparing accounts when a business hasn’t kept full books: net assets, control accounts, cash and mark-ups.FoundationsSole trader income statementThe income statement of a small business owned by one person, explained line by line, with how to build it and how to read it.Financial statementsSole trader statement of financial positionThe balance sheet of a small business owned by one person, explained line by line, with how to build it and how to read it.Financial statementsCompany statement of profit or loss and OCIA limited company’s statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income in the IAS 1 layout, explained line by line.Financial statementsCompany statement of financial positionA limited company’s statement of financial position in the IAS 1 layout, explained line by line.Financial statementsStatement of changes in equityHow each part of shareholders’ equity moved during the year: profit, other gains, dividends and share issues.Financial statementsStatement of cash flowsWhere a company’s cash came from and went, built from the other statements, explained line by line.Financial statementsConsolidated statement of financial positionA group’s balance sheet: a parent and the company it controls, shown as one business. Explained line by line.Financial statementsStatement of cash flowsWhy profit isn’t cash, and how to prepare the IAS 7 statement using the indirect method.Year 3Ratio analysisProfitability, liquidity, efficiency and gearing ratios, and how to interpret them.Year 3Practical bookkeepingBank reconciliations, VAT, control accounts and suspense accounts: the day-to-day work of a finance team.Industry readyGroup accountsConsolidation under IFRS 10 and IFRS 3: goodwill, non-controlling interest and intra-group trading.Industry readyFinance team: month-end closeClose the October books at a gym chain: accruals, prepayments, the bank rec and budget variance commentary.On the job
MA: Management Accounting
Applied Knowledge
TX: Taxation (UK)
Applied Skills
FR: Financial Reporting
Applied Skills
Income statementCost of sales, gross profit and net profit in the vertical format, for sole traders and companies.FoundationsStatement of financial positionAssets, liabilities and capital at a date, laid out so the two halves agree.FoundationsCompany statement of profit or loss and OCIA limited company’s statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income in the IAS 1 layout, explained line by line.Financial statementsCompany statement of financial positionA limited company’s statement of financial position in the IAS 1 layout, explained line by line.Financial statementsStatement of changes in equityHow each part of shareholders’ equity moved during the year: profit, other gains, dividends and share issues.Financial statementsStatement of cash flowsWhere a company’s cash came from and went, built from the other statements, explained line by line.Financial statementsConsolidated statement of financial positionA group’s balance sheet: a parent and the company it controls, shown as one business. Explained line by line.Financial statementsStatement of cash flowsWhy profit isn’t cash, and how to prepare the IAS 7 statement using the indirect method.Year 3Ratio analysisProfitability, liquidity, efficiency and gearing ratios, and how to interpret them.Year 3IFRS standardsThe key rules in IAS 1, IAS 2, IAS 16, IAS 37, IAS 38, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16, with calculations.Year 3IAS 36: Impairment of assetsRecoverable amount, value in use, impairment losses and how they are spread across a cash-generating unit.Year 3IAS 12: Deferred taxWhy accounting profit and taxable profit differ, and how temporary differences create deferred tax assets and liabilities.Year 3IFRS 9: Financial instrumentsClassifying financial assets, the amortised cost method, and expected credit losses on receivables.Year 3IFRS 15: Revenue in depthThe five-step model in detail: performance obligations, variable consideration, allocation and revenue over time.Year 3IAS 37: Provisions and contingenciesWhen to recognise a provision, how to measure it, and when to disclose a contingent liability instead.Year 3IAS 16: Property, plant and equipmentWhat goes into cost, depreciation by component, and the revaluation model step by step.Year 3IAS 38: Intangible assetsRecognising intangibles, research versus development, and amortisation.Year 3IFRS 16: Lease calculationsMeasuring the lease liability and right-of-use asset, and building the liability table year by year.Year 3Consolidated statement of profit or lossAdding parent and subsidiary together, removing intra-group trading and unrealised profit, and splitting profit with the NCI.Year 3Group accountsConsolidation under IFRS 10 and IFRS 3: goodwill, non-controlling interest and intra-group trading.Industry readyReading an annual reportWhat is in a listed company’s annual report, where auditors and analysts look first, and a checklist to use on any report.Industry readyFinance team: accounting for a new leaseDecide which contracts are leases, then set up a new equipment lease under IFRS 16 and explain the effect to the finance director.On the job
AA: Audit and Assurance
Applied Skills
Audit basicsHow an external audit works, and the tasks a first-year audit associate actually does.Industry readyReading an annual reportWhat is in a listed company’s annual report, where auditors and analysts look first, and a checklist to use on any report.Industry readyAudit: testing receivablesYour first audit section: pick the balances to test, check after-date cash, test sales cut-off and report back.On the jobAudit: inventory countAttend the year-end stock count: test counts both ways, check goods coming in, and review slow-moving stock.On the jobAudit: going concern reviewReview a client’s cash flow forecast and loan covenant, spot the warning signs, and brief your manager.On the jobAudit: payrollTest a client’s wages: analytical review, a sample of employees, leavers, and the year-end PAYE liability.On the jobAudit: fixed asset additionsVouch additions to invoices and decide what is really capital, what belongs to the right year, and what’s been overstated.On the job
SBR: Strategic Business Reporting
Strategic Professional
Consolidated statement of financial positionA group’s balance sheet: a parent and the company it controls, shown as one business. Explained line by line.Financial statementsIFRS standardsThe key rules in IAS 1, IAS 2, IAS 16, IAS 37, IAS 38, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16, with calculations.Year 3IAS 36: Impairment of assetsRecoverable amount, value in use, impairment losses and how they are spread across a cash-generating unit.Year 3IAS 12: Deferred taxWhy accounting profit and taxable profit differ, and how temporary differences create deferred tax assets and liabilities.Year 3IFRS 9: Financial instrumentsClassifying financial assets, the amortised cost method, and expected credit losses on receivables.Year 3IFRS 15: Revenue in depthThe five-step model in detail: performance obligations, variable consideration, allocation and revenue over time.Year 3IAS 37: Provisions and contingenciesWhen to recognise a provision, how to measure it, and when to disclose a contingent liability instead.Year 3IAS 16: Property, plant and equipmentWhat goes into cost, depreciation by component, and the revaluation model step by step.Year 3IAS 38: Intangible assetsRecognising intangibles, research versus development, and amortisation.Year 3IFRS 16: Lease calculationsMeasuring the lease liability and right-of-use asset, and building the liability table year by year.Year 3Consolidated statement of profit or lossAdding parent and subsidiary together, removing intra-group trading and unrealised profit, and splitting profit with the NCI.Year 3Group accountsConsolidation under IFRS 10 and IFRS 3: goodwill, non-controlling interest and intra-group trading.Industry readyReading an annual reportWhat is in a listed company’s annual report, where auditors and analysts look first, and a checklist to use on any report.Industry ready
AAA: Advanced Audit and Assurance
Strategic Professional (option)
Not directly examined
Interview prep and Excel skills are career skills. They won’t come up in an ACCA exam, but they matter for getting a training contract and doing the job.